Capital
Optimizing capital access for businesses at all stages
When pursuing angel investing and venture capital, it is critical to determine an investor’s specific interests regarding geographic location, stage of company development, and industry expertise. These all form the basis of their investment preferences. The Innovation Lab, through Co-Manager Jon Gregory, maintains an extensive list of hundreds of funders and their specialties, developed over more than a decade of activity. This list includes:
- Angel Investor organizations
- Early-Stage Venture Capital Funds
- Mid- and Late-Stage Venture Capital Funds
- Private Equity Funds
- Boutique Investment Banks and M&A Advisors
- Commercial Lenders
- Credit Unions and Other Alternative Lenders
- Revolving Loan Fund and State Loan Fund Programs
Preliminary Search
For member companies deemed “capital ready” after an initial screening, the Innovation Lab can conduct a free search to identify capital sources for the company. For non-members there is a one-time search fee for this service.
Enhanced Search
For companies that desire more “hands-on” support from the Innovation Lab in identifying and accessing funding resources, a fee-for-service program is available. Member companies receive a 50% discount for this service over non-member companies.
Referrals
If a company is determined after an initial screening to not be a fit for these funding sources, or is not adequately prepared, the Innovation Lab is able to refer companies to other partner organizations in the community to provide assistance, recommend the company participate in an upcoming Lab Seminar (particularly the annual Fundraising Bootcamp), or in some cases, participate in in-depth mentoring programs through the Innovation Lab’s M4G program or its strategic partner Wavepoint Ventures’ Sprout mentoring program.
Funding Deep Dive
The Innovation Lab also provides a 90-minute Funding Presentation Deep Dive for both start-ups and existing growth companies. The Innovation Lab staff facilitates the session, which starts with a 15-minute company presentation provided by the company founder or CEO. The Innovation Lab staff then drives a discovery process generated by questions and comments presented by our multi-disciplinary group of advisors. The session is recorded and a brief summary report of findings and suggested actions are presented to the company within 1 week. Typical outcomes could be suggestions for an advisory board, a change in fundraising strategy, or suggestions on different ways to attract customers.
The Innovation Lab draws upon its partner organizations, sponsors, and M4G Advisors to participate, ideally with a group of 5-6 experts from different disciplines. Typical examples would be advisors who have backgrounds in legal, finance, marketing, fundraising, sales, manufacturing and technology.
A one-time nominal fee is charged for this service. Member companies receive a 50% discount for this service.
Investment Events
Through its strategic partner Grow-California LLC, the Innovation Lab is able to incorporate local companies into 4 statewide industry-specific innovation and investment conferences:
- Agriculture Innovation – July 20-21, 2011 in Davis
- Cleantech Innovation – September 14-15, 2011 in Oakland
- Web and IT Innovation – November 16-17, 2011 in Pleasanton
- Healthcare/Medical Technology – location and date TBD in Q1 of 2012
At these conferences 15 early-stage companies have the opportunity to make presentations to a large number of funders, including angels, venture capitalists, private equity funds, commercial lenders, alternative lenders, and government programs.
In addition, the Innovation Lab hosts the annual North State Venture Forum which brings many funders from both inside and outside the region to the Lab looking for opportunities to provide capital to local growth companies.
How to Get Started
Contact Jon Gregory, Innovation Lab Co-Manager. The process starts with submittal of a business plan executive summary, which should be no more than 3 pages in length.